She is ready for her debut...("She" is 'Respect', my newest sculpture) at WARM's Mentor/Protégée exhibition: Launching and Landing - Grain Belt Bottling House Gallery. The show runs the entire month of October, with the opening reception OCT. 8 5:30 - 8:30. This show represents work accomplished by the protégées over the last two years as emerging artists.
This is a story of the three wise women who guided me along the path...
At the beginning of the two year term, one of WARM's leaders, Tina Nemetz, advised me to trust the process with an open mind..."some artists end up at an entirely different place than where they begin".
So my mentor, Marcie Soderman-Olson and I began clearing the path. We weeded through the ideas as they crowded my mind. Along the way, I researched artists who inspire me, historical and contemporary, travelled to find faces that would find their way to my canvases and completed several paintings. Marcie helped me discover what my work is about. She helped me discover what is uniquely me in my work - "light and texture". She gave me the intellectual space to knead, ruminate and ponder.
Recently, I took a break from painting, to explore ceramic sculpture, with Krissy Catt. Again, the figure would dominate my work. In clay, however, I found freedom. My approach became more intuitive. Krissy always advising me: "Don't give up on a piece, just keep working on it". She has encouraged me to continue, each project a little more demanding...freedom replacing fear. My love of acrylics merged with my new found love of clay and 'Respect' was completed in time for the exhibit!
Then when I least expected it...another breakthrough occurred. Last week, I was working on a painting to donate to the WARM fundraiser, which will be available at the opening reception. I was working against the deadline and was experiencing some frustration, having just returned to painting on canvas. The voices of my three wise women floated into my thoughts... "trust the process, you may end up at a different place", "light and texture" and "just keep working on it". Their words centered me. I pushed forward on the painting, adjusted the color scheme, and worked the textures with more freedom. I reclaimed joy in the process of the work!
I am blessed to have these three wise women guiding me!
'Respect'
Ceramic sculpture and acrylic paint